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Wow... just wow... your google-fu is strong... now can you please explain in your own words, in Aikido terms that people here understand? * says with extra humility and a cherry on top *

Well here's a truth I have found in my own personal practice...

The Power of Aikido is best expressed when you are completely relaxed.. are breathing with your whole being... and have calmly accepted your opponent as a part of you....

The breath can be understood in one practice but can take along time to completely understand how to apply it depending on the desire of the student to practice it. O'Sensei practiced Misogi diligently everyday for sometimes hours on end

The relaxation "part" is the baseline for understanding how to use your entire body and your senses.The simplest way to learn how to practice Aikido is when you are physically exhausted... Then with proper guidance you will discover how useless pure physical effort is in Waza and may begin to experiance the first stages of how to relax under duress and blend with the energy of your opponent using your posture and center properly....Much to your surprise you may find your Atemi starts to be allot more effective and that you move more economically with less effort in blending with an attackers "intention."

Our Aikido's footwork and movement is radically different than either the Hombu or Iwama styles...We half step and use small circular blending movements which with good posture and breathing can generate tremendous power...We also give Uke several opportunities inside each "teachnique" to stop the fight and reconsider his actions...

There's a start for you my friend and I will gladly go from there when I get the chance....

I dunno... it's too vague for me and sounds too much like the off-repeated mantra of keep training hard and one day you'll get it. Perhaps you could be a little more specific?

I have a couple of problems jiving with your explanation:
1. "Completely relaxed", to me, is an oxymoron... when I'm completely relaxed (a couple of cones would do that nicely)... I'm pretty much legless and useless. So how do I remain "completely relaxed" without going off into la-la land?

2. How do I "breathe thru my whole being"? What does that mean? What's involved?

3. OK, assuming that I can somehow "completely relax" and can "breathe thru my whole being", and my opponent and I are One with the Universe (have another bong, bro)... where then does this "Power" (of Aikido) come from and how does it manifest itself?

4. I ain't no spring chicken and I'm getting on in years... everything I do is physically exhausting... why, just walking up the stairs is enough to wear me out... so how can I apply Internal Strength™? Is there a way to learn AikiPower™ without being physically exhausted first?

5. What do you mean by "using your posture and center properly"? Can you be more specific?

I guess what I'm asking is how do I get good at this Internal Strength™ in Aikido quickly? And how do I get "stronger", faster? Which I presume everyone else contributing and/or lurking would want to know as well.

I see Rob L. has beaten me to it with his other thread... basically, I need you to fastrack me.... friend... pal... buddy... so I can practice Aikido™/Aiki..do NOW and not when I'm physically exhausted, gasping for breath (yeah, I know I know... gotta give up those bongs) and at the point of keeling over from being completely relaxed.

I dunno... it's too vague for me and sounds too much like the off-repeated mantra of keep training hard and one day you'll get it. Perhaps you could be a little more specific?

Ok Let me give it a try...

Quote:

I have a couple of problems jiving with your explanation:
1. "Completely relaxed", to me, is an oxymoron... when I'm completely relaxed (a couple of cones would do that nicely)... I'm pretty much legless and useless. So how do I remain "completely relaxed" without going off into la-la land?

Ok I will give this a shot despite the sarcasm which I will pass off as being due to my limited articulation on the topic.

The next time you do randori or aliveness training try if you can to note where the muscle tension is in your movement. Is it in your upper body or arms. Do you find your self pushing through a throw ending up with your hips back and your head forward? Perhaps it may be better to check this and see first

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2. How do I "breathe thru my whole being"? What does that mean? What's involved?

I don't know...It's what O'Sensei did and it seemed to have helped him. We don't have it as a regular part of our practice but I notice those who practice some type of Misogi seem to be more relaxed.

I have been practicing Zen for the last 20+ years or so and that personally helps me too with my breathing.

Quote:

3. OK, assuming that I can somehow "completely relax" and can "breathe thru my whole being", and my opponent and I are One with the Universe (have another bong, bro)... where then does this "Power" (of Aikido) come from and how does it manifest itself?

"Have another bong bro" LOL...

You do practice Aikido right??? Are you telling me your never "felt" a physical connection with your Uke? Been too busy being focused on technique and imposing your will have you? Well one thing that is exciting about this whole IMA deal is the idea that what took me years to discover about Aiki Power can simply be practiced with a few basic exercises...and I am looking forward to learning them from these guys...

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4. I ain't no spring chicken and I'm getting on in years... everything I do is physically exhausting... why, just walking up the stairs is enough to wear me out... so how can I apply Internal Strength™? Is there a way to learn AikiPower™ without being physically exhausted first?

See A & B above

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5. What do you mean by "using your posture and center properly"? Can you be more specific?

Sure but it will take a whole new post which I will have to get to later. Ask your Sensei about Shikko Dachi & Zengtsu Dachi...If your Sensei does not know what those mean... Then ask his Sensei If he/she doesn't know then I will try to explain it in a later post.

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I guess what I'm asking is how do I get good at this Internal Strength™ in Aikido quickly? And how do I get "stronger", faster? Which I presume everyone else contributing and/or lurking would want to know as well.

I am afraid I can't help you there but I may be a bit confused by your question ( and heck I have not even had my bong hits for the day). Our Aikido and my experiance is that when done properly our expression of our Aikido not require you become progressivley stronger or faster. Our expression does not rely on this things. Shoji Nishio was your average height and weight for a Japanese person and handled men twice his size with ease. I personally found that very inspiring especially when I took Ukemi from him. The second he touched me my "power" simply left. I can't speak for the others here as far as internal strength goes which is why I look forward to learning from them. As for Nishio Shihan as far as i knw he shared everything he knew and focused on the proper expression of Aikido He had no secrets.

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I see Rob L. has beaten me to it with his other thread... basically, I need you to fastrack me.... friend... pal... buddy... so I can practice Aikido™/Aiki..do NOW and not when I'm physically exhausted, gasping for breath (yeah, I know I know... gotta give up those bongs) and at the point of keeling over from being completely relaxed.

I don't see how I can use the web to fast track you... but if you ever show up to class I can show you what limited experiance I have on the subject and I welcome the opportunity to meet another friendly face. Don't bring a bong however I have been clean and sober for 20 years. I have already used up my lifetime supply of bong hits.

Thanks for taking the time to reply... in case people aren't aware... my questions were phrased as a beginner possibly would and are firmly tongue in cheek... So please take it in the light-hearted, semi-serious, jovial manner in which it was asked. Yes, and in case anyone is wondering... the answer is NO... unlike the other Bill, I never inhaled...

I'll not address individual aspects of your post which, I feel, superficially glosses over the real meat of the topic... and that is... how has Aiki...do impacted one's Aikido™ (for Ricky... you can also hold down the Alt key and type 0153 on your numeric keypad).

Suffice to say, I did not find anything new or ground-breaking in your posts, although I do appreciate the time you have taken to address my inane questions... really.

I can see the karate influence, but... shiko dachi and zenkutsu dachi tells me very little about how these training postures are used to generate AikiPower.... much less how "using your center correctly" even whilst in shizentai can generate power. I don't know if the superficial treatment of these is reflective of not wanting to do so on an open forum, or because you don't know me from Adam's or something else.

Perhaps you could speak to some of these "basic exercises" (in Aikido™) which are used to develop AikiPower™, with a little bit more exposition on the "what" one should be looking for within the practice of these exercises.

No worries IT all in good fun.... But before we proceed let me ask you a few questions....

What do you know of Misogi? How long have you practiced it? How much time each day do you devote to practice? How many of the few things I have mentioned do you or have you practiced?

You see I am puzzled by folks who expect Aikido to perform miracles for them when they have not put in the work or only practice at the dojo twice a week. Folks want enlightenment but they do not want to sit Zazen...They want Kokyu but they do not practice Misogi or any breathing exercises for that matter. They want to move effortlessly but they never train tenkan They want knowledge but they do not want to study themselves to get it. They want it handed to them.

I have never experianced any shortcuts or simple way to achieve these things Now perhaps Dan or some have some tried and true methods which make the task simpler and easier to achieve Kokyu power and for that I am all ears and eager to take ukemi....

So how about it Mr IT? You say you're frustrated with your practice and your not getting any older

Start with Misogi and we'll talk in 6 months If you don't notice a distinct differance in your efforts at practice Well then... The stinky Puna Purple Haze be on me Brah!

Take Care IT.

William Hazen

I wish the good Reverand Barrish would contribute to this thread on the importance of Misogi to Aikido practice...Hopefully he feels so inclined when he reads this.

What do you know of Misogi? How long have you practiced it? How much time each day do you devote to practice? How many of the few things I have mentioned do you or have you practiced?

Enough... Every moment - even lifting a teacup takes effort and "practice"... All of the above.

Quote:

You say you're frustrated with your practice and your not getting any older

Did I say that? Where?

Quote:

Start with Misogi and we'll talk in 6 months If you don't notice a distinct differance in your efforts at practice Well then... The stinky Puna Purple Haze be on me Brah!

Well... I think I'm a little bit past that... It's always interesting to see the assumptions people make BUT it still doesn't address the question... telling someone to go practice something without saying what "IT" is that they are supposed to be practicing or why, is... not very helpful.

I don't disagree that time, effort and commitment to practice everyday is required. But that's not the point of the question....

I can show someone in 2mins how to throw a bigger/stronger person simply by standing in hanmi, with arms outstretched. Usually takes them about 5mins to actually "get it", depending on how fast they can create and maintain the necessary synaptic and proprioceptive pathways. Sure it might take them a few months or years (depending on how much and how often they practice) before they can do it at will and on-demand, but at least they get the gist of it up front - not after years of hit-and-miss self-discovery.

So if you believe that Aikido™ already has this AikiPower™, and that this IMA/Aiki...do is no big deal, why not share what you think "it" is... for everyone's edification?

Shaun Ravens has made a couple of excellent posts these last few days on misogi. I'd like to comment from my own experience, and I think it is related to the thread topic:

Assumption: I've seen and trained the commonly-taught misogi under Abe Seiseki shihan and his deshi, and pretty much the same thing physically under direction of both the of the Italian Aikikai and the British Aikido Federation. So I think I'm talking about the mainstream-taught and commonly-known misogi here. Therefore I merely ask the readers to refer to Aikiweb threads discussing misogi for a general overview.

Falsifiability: if there are other misogi I don't know about, or methods to do them that I don't know about, I'm prepared to reconsider my statements below.

Statements:

1. I do not think---at this stage---that misogi were or are the first stage of penetrating to the heart of aikido. I think that they are too indirect and can only deliver real results once the first stage has been passed. I think this has become clear from past posts that some people have developed very rapidly using misogi practice once they had broken through a certain barrier. I think that barrier is a purely physical one (regardless of what mental development might also be associated with the practice of aikido and misogi).

2. I further think that stage one is more in the stance and posture used in training---for example, Abe shihan had us stand with arms and legs straightened---and more direct, but not direct enough. In particular, I think the vertical axis should be emphasized more, so that greater benefits can accrue to be used in the standard posture, and later in the practice of the misogi exercises where the hands are held horizontally or lower. Otherwise, I doubt that proper development of the connections of the arms to the back via the shoulders will take place in ordinary students who are forced to work in poor postural circumstances for many hours a day and have perhaps one or two hours a day maximum to devote to martial arts practice. Perhaps, on the other hand, it was sufficient in the past, and perhaps even now sufficient for those who do professionally spend many hours each day practicing and/or teaching the art.

3. Additionally, I speculate that such direct teaching was expected to have been manifested in the student before their joining in aikido practice, since originally students needed to have gained experience, which implies certain body development, in other arts. If the bodily basis is the same at a low level, then they will thus have the necessary foundation and can use the misogi and breathing exercises, perhaps something special in aikido, to advance to a much higher level.

Enough... Every moment - even lifting a teacup takes effort and "practice"... All of the above.

Did I say that? Where?

Well... I think I'm a little bit past that... It's always interesting to see the assumptions people make BUT it still doesn't address the question... telling someone to go practice something without saying what "IT" is that they are supposed to be practicing or why, is... not very helpful.

I don't disagree that time, effort and commitment to practice everyday is required. But that's not the point of the question....

I can show someone in 2mins how to throw a bigger/stronger person simply by standing in hanmi, with arms outstretched. Usually takes them about 5mins to actually "get it", depending on how fast they can create and maintain the necessary synaptic and proprioceptive pathways. Sure it might take them a few months or years (depending on how much and how often they practice) before they can do it at will and on-demand, but at least they get the gist of it up front - not after years of hit-and-miss self-discovery.

So if you believe that Aikido™ already has this AikiPower™, and that this IMA/Aiki...do is no big deal, why not share what you think "it" is... for everyone's edification?

I just got back from teaching a class with emphasis on Kokyu and so after reading your most excellent post I have deduced that....

Gosh IT I have done my best to explain it and I guess I just don't know what I am talking about....

As such there is nothing further to explain "it" and it seems like it might be time for you to look elswhere for the answers you seek from me...

I leave you with a story which illustrates my feeble attempt to convey the awesome internal power of Aikido to you via the World Wide Web.

"The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriach Huineng, "I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."
The patriach responded, "I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning."
Said the nun, "You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?"
"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger..."

I just got back from teaching a class with emphasis on Kokyu and so after reading your most excellent post I have deduced that....

Gosh IT I have done my best to explain it and I guess I just don't know what I am talking about....

I guess not... and I hope I'm not being as blunt as Rob J... BUT it does make me wonder how you can actually "teach" kokyu... if you can't even explain "it" to me here.

Quote:

I leave you with a story which illustrates my feeble attempt to convey the awesome internal power of Aikido to you via the World Wide Web.

"The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriach Huineng, "I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."
The patriach responded, "I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning."
Said the nun, "You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?"
"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger..."

Wow... just wow... I ask about internal strength in Aikido™ and you quote Zen...

I guess not... and I hope I'm not being as blunt as Rob J... BUT it does make me wonder how you can actually "teach" kokyu... if you can't even explain "it" to me here.

Being blunt is ok as is the right to question I am just bored with trying to explain myself in terms where you get "it" I have done my best and fallen short in your and some others eyes...

Let's review... Aikido's internal strength comes from

Misogi
Tenkan
Irimi

Ohhh and it's important to learn how to relax...LOL

Not good enough of an explaination for an accountant I guess... You want the technical details...I looked back to through my archives and other than doing what O'Sensei did and following the encouragement of Shoji Nishio to look outside for ways to better Aikido...I don't know how many times I can repeat myself...

Now if you want a technical explaination then perhaps you should wait until I attend a seminar with one of the fine folks here...Then maybe I can gather enough information to "proof my arguement" in writing...

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Wow... just wow... I ask about internal strength in Aikido™ and you quote Zen...

Wow just wow I guess you'll go to bed tonight knowing you've slayed another windmill in your quest for the truth of "it" or perhaps someday you'll come to understand the real meaning behind this parable.

Assumption: I've seen and trained the commonly-taught misogi under Abe Seiseki shihan and his deshi, and pretty much the same thing physically under direction of both the of the Italian Aikikai and the British Aikido Federation. So I think I'm talking about the mainstream-taught and commonly-known misogi here. Therefore I merely ask the readers to refer to Aikiweb threads discussing misogi for a general overview.

Any comments most welcome.

Hi Gernot,

Hmmmm, I guess a good place to start here is by asking a few simple questions to level the playing field.

Given the three sources you mention, would you say that the methodologies were basically the same?

Given the same three methods, are the "stated" goals for the practice basically the same?

In your opinion, or from what you have been told (please specify) what are the phase one goals of Misogi-no-Gyo

If you care to speculate, or speak from your own experience, (seperate from the first few phase changes) what is/are the long time goal/goals of Misogi-no-Gyo?

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

Statements:

I think that they are too indirect and can only deliver real results once the first stage has been passed.

what is the first stage to which you are referring?

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

I do not think---at this stage---that misogi were or are the first stage of penetrating to the heart of aikido.

I can't really speak to the totality of your point until I am clear about what "at this stage" means. However, I would like to be clear about what I mean when I say "understanding the art of the founder." For the sake of simplification (and this is very over-simplified) the art of the founder has two basic components - one that is physical and another that is non-physical. I am not going to get specific at all as to what I mean by non-physical, but I will say that it is not "spiritual" in nature as Westerner's minds might understand it. I am not saying that Aikido is not spiritual, or doesn't have a spiritual component, just that spirituality is not part of the basic elements I am describing here. Let's face it, anything can be spiritual, and at some level, everything is. As in any math problem, if all parts have one element in common, that element can be divided out from the equation. So, spirituality, for all that it is worth will not be part of this explanation.

My sense is that every person who steps into a dojo starts off with the physical aspect of the art. This is how it should be. From a physical perspective we have techniques (waza) and various sorts of movement (sabaki - te, tai, ashi, koshi... etc.) These are the outer forms, or empty forms of Aikido. Misogi, too, has an outer form - all of the specific practices (gyo) from which it is comprised. The gyo are, in an of themselves empty. They are often seen as spiritual, or even worse, religious in nature. Religion is also an outer form, in and of itself empty, but that is another thread in another forum so I will not address that here. I do not believe that practicing misogi as a spiritual or religious form is either needed, desired or will assist someone to understand the art of the founder. I say this because the founder said it, and also because in the manner in which it was taught it was entirely devoid of those elements. However, I think we can safely say that a person can practice techniques for decades and be as far off from discovering even the deeper physical aspects of Kokyu, moving with Kokyu, and throwing with Kokyu, but again these things are all (mostly) physical in nature. They are not what lies at the heart of Aikido because, just as the sign says, "There are no techniques at the heart of Aikido." This is where misogi-no-gyo comes in. However, I believe it important to say that I don't think misogi is, or should be used as a substitute for training, rather it is a supplement to the training, and in this manner should be approached at the very beginning of one's path in order to both augment and deepen it in a way that would not be otherwise possible.

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

I think this has become clear from past posts that some people have developed very rapidly using misogi practice once they had broken through a certain barrier. I think that barrier is a purely physical one (regardless of what mental development might also be associated with the practice of aikido and misogi).

Again, I am not sure what "barrier" it is to which you refer, but I am wondering if there is an assumption that someone must run into the wall over and over before they realize that there is and that they should use the door... There is no reason someone must struggle to find peace, nor must they suffer to find enlightenment. There is a Sanskrit word "Anupaya" which literally means, "no means" and can be interpreted to mean, "spontaneous self realization without effort" This is Takemusu Aiki achieved through the process of Masakatsu-Agatsu-Katsuhayahi. Interestingly, katsuhayahi may also be interpreted as "spontaneous self realization without effort." perhaps you are saying that one needs a fair level of understanding, say 5 years of training in the physical elements along with a similar depth of experience in the transformative aspects of misogi in order to properly integrate the two over some period of time. If that is what you meant, then I would tend to agree. I would be curious to hear Kinoshita Sensei's opinion on that, so much so that I will ask him when I next have the honor and opportunity.

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

I further think that stage one is more in the stance and posture used in training---for example, Abe shihan had us stand with arms and legs straightened---and more direct, but not direct enough. In particular, I think the vertical axis should be emphasized more, so that greater benefits can accrue to be used in the standard posture, and later in the practice of the misogi exercises where the hands are held horizontally or lower. Otherwise, I doubt that proper development of the connections of the arms to the back via the shoulders will take place in ordinary students who are forced to work in poor postural circumstances for many hours a day and have perhaps one or two hours a day maximum to devote to martial arts practice. Perhaps, on the other hand, it was sufficient in the past, and perhaps even now sufficient for those who do professionally spend many hours each day practicing and/or teaching the art.

Hmmm, here I could say a lot, but I feel I might lose anyone, okay everyone else who may still be reading along. My investigation of the outer form of both Aikido waza and misogi waza lasted about 10 years. It was at that point that both Abe Sensei and Kinoshita Sensei individually began breaking my form after not having made one point about it verbally. I guess about two years later into my training I realized why - THERE IS NO FORM! However, and this must be said, you can't start out that way, without form I mean. Then again, there is all this effort to try and raise the "vertical axis" (no pun intended) and its relation to a ground path to be the pinnacle of internal focus. While I am sure that these are very important elements, they are basic elements at best. I believe that ground path becomes (mostly) irrelevant at some point. I say this because of some of the things I have been able to experience first hand, things I won't go into here. I definitely agree that these things take years to develop and decades to master.

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

Additionally, I speculate that such direct teaching was expected to have been manifested in the student before their joining in aikido practice, since originally students needed to have gained experience, which implies certain body development, in other arts. If the bodily basis is the same at a low level, then they will thus have the necessary foundation and can use the misogi and breathing exercises, perhaps something special in aikido, to advance to a much higher level.

I would say yes, but... Yes, in that any prior training will be helpful to a point, but could just as easily get in the way of advancing to the next level, forget about a much higher level. In my case, I truly thought Aikido was supposed to hurt, so much so I concentrated strictly on how to make each and every movement as painful as possible on Uke. As you might imagine, I was not really appreciated at that time. My senpai adjusted my sense of things, but I really couldn't see their point. I mean I understood that they didn't want me hurting them, or worse, beginners, but I didn't, couldn't, wouldn't see that Aikido is not wrist twisting and body throwing. Had I not sought out Misogi I do not think I would have changed my focus, and probably would have hurt a lot more of my training partners. There are many people on this very board who think they have come a long way on their aikido/martial path. However, it is quite obvious from an outsiders perspective that they can't see that they haven't moved forward at all from a beginner's level understanding of either. Oops! Did I just say that out loud? Its okay, I'm not talking about anyone who actually read this far in my post. No, really, I'm not...

.

I no longer participate in or read the discussion forums here on AikiWeb due to the unfair and uneven treatment of people by the owner/administrator.

1. I do not think---at this stage---that misogi were or are the first stage of penetrating to the heart of aikido. I think that they are too indirect and can only deliver real results once the first stage has been passed. I think this has become clear from past posts that some people have developed very rapidly using misogi practice once they had broken through a certain barrier. I think that barrier is a purely physical one (regardless of what mental development might also be associated with the practice of aikido and misogi).

Gernot, I really agree with this. Years ago I was shown the usual misogi set including some cutting motions ("otakebi"? IIRC) and tried to train it diligently...but I realize now, from discovering some of the body paths etc via Aunkai and Roppokai training, that I had only the vaguest idea of what the misogi were supposed to be burning in....so it was of very little benefit to me at the time despite doing thousands of reps. Approaching the same movements now, even with my limited understanding makes them seem much richer in terms of internal training.

Quote:

Howard Popkin wrote:

Shark tournament this weekend. Wish me luck !

Howard

Howard, please just resist the tempation to haul anything large up into the boat without SHOOTING it first, like the famous Mako incident..I don't know if aiki-age would work well enough to save you against "Jaws" ...Good luck!!

There are many people on this very board who think they have come a long way on their aikido/martial path. However, it is quite obvious from an outsiders perspective that they can't see that they haven't moved forward at all from a beginner's level understanding of either. Oops! Did I just say that out loud? Its okay, I'm not talking about anyone who actually read this far in my post. No, really, I'm not...

Well, I don't know... I am still trying to figure out how I got lured back out into the open after hiding myself away for the past two years.

On another note, I actually stumbled across Popkin Sensei's seminar this past Friday evening. (Hi Howard) I was only able to observe, so I really could not comment with any certainty as to the relevance to these discussions. However, what I will say is that it reminded me of the first class on the first day when I met Abe Sensei. My journal entry that night read, "Ah Ha! Magic does exist." I would imagine that these were merely basic DR-Aiki concepts filtered trough an aikido paradigm (so as to be easily absorbed by the uninitiated Aikidoka) rather than the mid or higher level DR techniques I would like to see and experience. Alas, I was a bit misty-eyed for those guys knowing what it was like to have my eyes snapped wide open for the first time. While it may certainly be humbling, especially given the number of years some of the participants have been on the mat, there is no time like the present to open oneself to enlightenment.

.

I no longer participate in or read the discussion forums here on AikiWeb due to the unfair and uneven treatment of people by the owner/administrator.

Hmmmm, I guess a good place to start here is by asking a few simple questions to level the playing field.

Given the three sources you mention, would you say that the methodologies were basically the same?

Given the same three methods, are the "stated" goals for the practice basically the same?

In your opinion, or from what you have been told (please specify) what are the phase one goals of Misogi-no-Gyo

If you care to speculate, or speak from your own experience, (seperate from the first few phase changes) what is/are the long time goal/goals of Misogi-no-Gyo?

[snipsky]

You know, there are different approaches to how these things are done, but the core principles are the same and can be explained rationally. There are different mysticisms that have been mixed in as veneers to complement different religions (like Buddhism, Shintoism, etc.), but the core principles are the same and can be explained rationally. There are different visualizations used by different people/styles, but the core principles are (and must be) the same... and they can be explained rationally. The idea that Misogi-no-gyo or any form of misogi is somehow working on different core principles is simply a wrong idea and somewhat of an alarm-flag raiser to boot.

Think back to the interview of Tohei in Aikido Journal (I think it's the first of a 3-part interview) where he describes O-Sensei's idea of why the hungover Tohei shouldn't be able to do the "unliftable" demonstration. Regardless of O-Sensei's religious mysticism, Tohei could still do the "unliftable" demonstration by "dropping his center".... because the core principle is the same.

Now someone may want to keep some exotic or esoteric explanation because it's colorful, but if they can really do these things, the baseline discussions by a number of people should be easily understood, even if those descriptions are a little bit different from what one is used to.... because "dropping your center" or "using the groundpath" are pretty obvious contextually, if you really know the subject. The people who argue "their way" seem to be the people for whom the common conversation doesn't ring obvious bells, in my experience. "Misogi" is fine... but why not also show that you physically know how to do these things, if you really know how? It would create so much harmony.

If I may, it is on topic because it directly relates to points 3 & 4 on Dan's question list:
3. How do you see it impacting the art.
4. What happens next in your training or school?

At the outset, let me just say that I don't fundamentally disagree with anything William has said. So the issue, for me, is not whether Aiki..do is in Aikido™ or not. The issue and how it relates to points 3 & 4 is highlighted by Mike's post here

As much as I enjoy the odd Zen parable, and can grasp the intent of fingers pointing at astral bodies, I think the vagaries and nebulous descriptions do little to help further bringing Aiki..do (back?) to the forefront of Aikido™ training - which I believe is what Dan rhetorical finger is fundamentally pointing at. Not everyone has the requisite Martial IQ threshold™ (no slight intended on Rob L or his teacher) to comprehend obtuse Zen whacking sticks... which I think has its place... but it's like a good joke - the punch-line delivery and timing is important, and unless it connects with your audience, it means nothing. If you're lucky, they might get the joke 5mins later, but it would have lost its initial impact.

So, despite the convoluted manner in which William has played a very sporting and unwitting part in my argument, I submit to you that knowing what "it" is, what it "feels" like is one thing. Being able to do it is quite another, but the crux of points 3 & 4 is being able to then transmit it to others so that it is replicable (on whatever level).

To which I point you to Mike's post #167.

Vagauries and nebulous descriptions??? Unwitting??? LOL

What's not to understand????

Again

Misogi
Tenkan
Irimi

Are any of the "descriptions" of Aikido's Internal connections beyond your intellectual grasp??? According to most including you nope. So then where am I lacking??? A simple anatomical explaination of Misogi??? Tenkan???Irimi???? Does anyone here not know how to practice these correctly???

The problem with your line of questioning I would humbly submit is the assumption of a pre-determined outcome. Namely that because I cannot describe it I cannot have grasped it...because heck everyone else "in the know" can describe it and in simple terms too!!! So why can't you? LOL I don't know how many times I can say I have difficulty describing "it" but because I do I yawn through cheap shots via innuendo. I offer myself up to learn the concepts Honor folks for what they know and yet the boorishness continues...I will continue acting in the spirit of Aikido by humbly accepting some posters points of view that I am ignorant and silly...

Again

Misogi
Tenkan
Irimi

The man I learned this from and most of his senior students did not speak a lick of English... After almost 20 years of practice I barely know the Japanese names for Aikido Techniques and still can't fold the perfect Hakama...However it's been shared with me that I am not that bad when it comes to Aikido... and all I can say is words had very little to do with that...Hence my gift of the parable IT...When I first heard it It was to make this exact point... Though I did not know it at the time. I had to discover and experiance it for myself.

After years and years of Misogi & Zazen...I still don't understand what the hell I am chanting...I just follow direction and chant....That my friends can still open up the universe...

I may be in Kindergarten when it comes to this stuff but at least I still love to go to school

Anyone with any ability to teach "it" is more than welcome to show "it" to an eager audiance at our Dojo and we will humbly share what little we know.

In answer to Dan's set of questions... He and I are exactly alike in spirit and our spirits were embodied in Shoji Nishio Shihan. I am always seeking to discover more about "it" and to embrace "it" enough that I may share "it" with others. That is what Sensei wanted and he had O'Sensei's blessing to do so... I want help in anyway I can to contribute to the growth of Aikido... To nuture it's roots in Aiki to share it's spirit of love and harmony with others and there are dozens of Dans out there along with Abes.. Gleasons... Nadeaus... Tanakas...Yoshidas...Fowlers... ect ect ect All looking to grow Aikido and pass it on From the deepest root of Aiki to the highest branch of Harmony

So where are "we" at??? Standing right here rooted solidly to the ground... ready to learn and humbly share our oh so brief experiance with those who come after us. The Bodhisattva Way

Anyone with any ability to teach "it" is more than welcome to show "it" to an eager audiance at our Dojo and we will humbly share what little we know.

But isn't this a simple deflection, William, once again? Let me emphasize the once again part because there are a few posters who talk ambiguously, but with insistence, that they share the same views, etc. Logically it would seem that if the same "ki" is being talked about, that means the poster must be able to understand the conversation from the original poster. Hmmmm. What I don't get is the "we're doing the same stuff and I understand 'it' as you describe it, but I can't describe it". A conundrum indeed.

But what bothers me most is the idea (which you've floated before) that the topic cannot be engaged except in some sort of personal trial at your dojo. This is similar to a current poster who wants to see videotapes of everyone in combat, talk about his income and college degrees, etc. I.e., "what has this got to do with the topic at hand?". This is not the "Tao that can be named is not the Tao"... this is the baby steps to the Tao (it really is, BTW) and it can certainly be discussed functionally. If you want to see some drawings from Chinese and Japanese showing diagrams very similar to the ones I've used on this forum, let me know. The idea that a person who knows can't articulate the basics does not stand up except within a group who simply doesn't know the basics.

I gotta say that I'm a little disappointed with some of the levels of debate that I've encountered by too many "spiritual" people, in my life. And trust me, I don't have that attitude simply because I've never broken heads.

Are any of the "descriptions" of Aikido's Internal connections beyond your intellectual grasp??? According to most including you nope. So then where am I lacking??? A simple anatomical explaination of Misogi??? Tenkan???Irimi???? Does anyone here not know how to practice these correctly???

The problem with your line of questioning I would humbly submit is the assumption of a pre-determined outcome. Namely that because I cannot describe it I cannot have grasped it...because heck everyone else "in the know" can describe it and in simple terms too!!! So why can't you? LOL I don't know how many times I can say I have difficulty describing "it" but because I do I yawn through cheap shots via innuendo.

No William, it's not the finger of misogi, irimi, tenkan... And BTW, I did not in any way imply, nor did I mean to imply, that because you can't explain it, doesn't mean you don't understand it or can't do it. If that's how you perceived it, then it's my fault for not communicating it well enough.

SO... what I AM saying is that repeating the same old tired mantra seems to be falling on deaf ears... find another way to get thru to the other person...

Caution - HELL is freezing over... I am about to publicly agree with Mike Sigman - over and over and over! Well, mostly agree, anyway.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

I gotta say that I'm a little disappointed with some of the levels of debate that I've encountered by too many "spiritual" people, in my life. And trust me, I don't have that attitude simply because I've never broken heads.

I would agree Mike. I am totally disappointed with some of the levels of debate, too - mostly yours, along with some others. Of course, this is because I actually believe that you have something important to say, have something important to teach and something important to do, but it mostly gets shrouded by your overt inconsideration of almost everyone, okay, everyone that doesn't completely agree with you. I don't know, nor would I be qualified to measure the level of spirituality in your life, and while you may never have broken any heads, you certainly get some kind of joy out of publicly breaking people's balls.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

You know, there are different approaches to how these things are done, but the core principles are the same and can be explained rationally.

Again, I agree with you completely there.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

There are different mysticisms that have been mixed in as veneers to complement different religions (like Buddhism, Shintoism, etc.), but the core principles are the same and can be explained rationally. There are different visualizations used by different people/styles, but the core principles are (and must be) the same... and they can be explained rationally.

Wow, Mike - Three for three. You are on a roll.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

The idea that Misogi-no-gyo or any form of misogi is somehow working on different core principles is simply a wrong idea and somewhat of an alarm-flag raiser to boot.

I have always said the exact same thing. When I hear mystical approaches to things, it is a clear indicator that the person most likely either doesn't want me to know he knows, or he doesn't know at all, himself. Fortunately for me, my teachers and personal influences never bandied about with anything even remotely mystical or overtly spiritual when it came to teaching, demonstrating, lecturing or instructing.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

Think back to the interview of Tohei in Aikido Journal (I think it's the first of a 3-part interview) where he describes O-Sensei's idea of why the hungover Tohei shouldn't be able to do the "unliftable" demonstration. Regardless of O-Sensei's religious mysticism, Tohei could still do the "unliftable" demonstration by "dropping his center".... because the core principle is the same.

Well, I agree, but I wouldn't bandy about opinions about Tohei Sensei, as I have no personal relationship with him or his group at all. However, I do have some information about several of his teachers that isn't public knowledge. Maybe someday when you have another epiphany and realize that you may not have been "spot on" with your current understanding you will be open to seeing the bigger picture as you find these things out for yourself.

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

Now someone may want to keep some exotic or esoteric explanation because it's colorful, but if they can really do these things, the baseline discussions by a number of people should be easily understood, even if those descriptions are a little bit different from what one is used to.... because "dropping your center" or "using the groundpath" are pretty obvious contextually,

Esoteric - understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest. I couldn't really tell from the tone of your rant, but did you just say that there are no esoteric teachings, or just that all esoteric teachings must be colorful or clouded in mysticism?

Quote:

Mike Sigman wrote:

if you really know the subject. The people who argue "their way" seem to be the people for whom the common conversation doesn't ring obvious bells, in my experience. "Misogi" is fine... but why not also show that you physically know how to do these things, if you really know how? It would create so much harmony.

Mike, I am not sure why you felt the need to completely misrepresent what I said, both here in this thread and everywhere else. I don't understand, nor do I wish to for that matter, why you felt it necessary to quote my questions and then not answer them, either, but you certainly are a master of making your own rules and then challenging everyone else who doesn't agree with them or follow them. For the record, I addressed specific questions to Gernot, someone who spent a few years training at Abe Sensei's dojo. He has also moved on, and unless I am mistaken he is now in Tokyo and training with some of the Anukai. He made assertions about which I desired to get some clarification. I could have just written him a PM and spared myself another attempted penetration by your dull wit woefully powered by your repetitive, unproven, sometimes way off the mark assumptions, but that would have beguiled the point that you, yourself, amongst others have made, that we should not hide the truth in the shadows but rather come together and build a consensus for the benefit of the coming generations. My questions, unlike most of your points, were not rhetorical, sarcastic, condescending or off the point. They are actually very important points that:

Most people who train in Aikido don't know they don't know.

Most people who practice Misogi don't know they don't know.

Both you and I would agree with on many levels

Directly explain in layman's terms how to seek the founder's art.

As for creating harmony - GET REAL, dude! While you may have great internal skills, your external skill set is still in its infancy. In any case, FWIW the spell checker thingy is right next to the submit button. Be well.

.

Last edited by Misogi-no-Gyo : 06-25-2008 at 11:34 PM.

I no longer participate in or read the discussion forums here on AikiWeb due to the unfair and uneven treatment of people by the owner/administrator.

But isn't this a simple deflection, William, once again? Let me emphasize the once again part because there are a few posters who talk ambiguously, but with insistence, that they share the same views, etc. Logically it would seem that if the same "ki" is being talked about, that means the poster must be able to understand the conversation from the original poster. Hmmmm. What I don't get is the "we're doing the same stuff and I understand 'it' as you describe it, but I can't describe it". A conundrum indeed.

It's not a conundrum for me... I am attempting to make a connection with (folks like) you in my own (clumsey way) and you are simply refusing it. Pretty simple really.

Quote:

But what bothers me most is the idea (which you've floated before) that the topic cannot be engaged except in some sort of personal trial at your dojo.
This is similar to a current poster who wants to see videotapes of everyone in combat, talk about his income and college degrees, etc. I.e., "what has this got to do with the topic at hand?". This is not the "Tao that can be named is not the Tao"... this is the baby steps to the Tao (it really is, BTW) and it can certainly be discussed functionally. If you want to see some drawings from Chinese and Japanese showing diagrams very similar to the ones I've used on this forum, let me know. The idea that a person who knows can't articulate the basics does not stand up except within a group who simply doesn't know the basics.

Sorry Mike but again you're looking at what I am saying through a very screwed up set of filters. You seem to be looking for and creating conflict with me by associating me with someone else who has a dispute with you...I have done nothing but honor you and what you know and I am eager to learn from it. I respect everything you have to say on the subject too.

Please with all due respect Sifu Sigman

Drop the Rock...

Quote:

I gotta say that I'm a little disappointed with some of the levels of debate that I've encountered by too many "spiritual" people, in my life. And trust me, I don't have that attitude simply because I've never broken heads.

Regards.

Mike Sigman

Sorry you feel that way about some spiritual people Mike...They don't sound so spiritual to me...How I fit inside that bias does not interest me either. Thats your deal... Again one more time... I respect and honor your experiance and what you have to offer and I hope to learn from it. The invitation to my Dojo was not in any way shape or form a challenge but simply asking permission for you to share what you know with a group of willing and eager students. If you still don't trust what I am saying then I humbly refer you to a prior post by me here where I link to a Sister Dojo in Berlin Germany where they are also studying IMA for the purpose of making thier expression of Shoji Nishio's Aikido better.

Anyone else who shows up to teach us will get the very same respect and friendly atmosphere in the spirit of love and harmony. We only ask that you leave your ego at the door in the same bag we leave ours in before we bow and enter.

1. Yes, the same. Since you're spent upward of 10 years with Abe shihan and I only three, you can judge for yourself if and how the teaching changed over time. All I know is that on the one hand Abe sensei's closer deshi say that he teaches far more, and more explicitly, than say 10 years ago; and on the other hand, the misogi training for students has effectively been stopped even at gasshuku owing to various political correctness and social problems (first the ladies', and finally even the men's). Maybe I could say that the dojo-cho's instructions on o-takebi/o-korobi and torifune's three variants was more detailed than at some of the other places, but it was not any more so than the training in general: emphasis on the center, stopped breath, sounds, etc.

2. Stated goals: well, this has been unclear to me from whichever source. Not only to me, but to others in the dojo too, except in extremely general terms which again do not provide concrete and specific useful tools to work with. Concentration on and lowering of center, relaxation of shoulders and so on. This is partly what I mean about not being stage one.

3. Oops, this is where I think you misread my post. I wrote that I think misogi *is* not stage one, rather than what its goals might be. I have now a particular view of what the goals of misogi are and how the practice achieves them, but I do not think that they qualify as stage one or entry-level methods of training.

4. I am not qualified on this point since I do not have detailed instruction over a long period of time, and I believe I am currently training stage one with other more direct methods which are akin to the direct method which I believe Abe shihan was implicitly teaching
by having us always stand in the straight arms and straight legs posture for the entire class. I will therefore only say as pure speculation on the *physical* aspect (leaving aside owing to inexperience that I think physical and spiritual cannot be divided) that misogi-no-gyo will have in the long term extremely strong effects on the connective tissues of the body, including the skin, making the body extremely strong and pliable with very good connection and inter-control of all parts. I think your body shows very good evidence of that, as does Abe shihan's, although I am afraid I cannot say the same for the vast majority of his students except insofar as they are still young.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

what is the first stage to which you are referring?

I think you mistook my mention of first stage as referring to an initial effect of misogi training? But what I meant was, as Rob McPherson states, that the first stage is something related to the structure and mechanism of the more obvious solid elements of the body: the skeleton and the muscles working around and through the various joints, independent from breathing. The basic stance that Abe shihan teaches us to stand in---arms straight at the elbows and knees (he is adamant that they must not be bent, and almost every time he corrected someone trying to do a technique to him it was to straighten the elbow; the other main correction was to made sure the stance was even and stable against push or pull). Without the upward stretching of the body and the straightening of elbows, there is no chance that the back muscles will begin to do the actual work of moving the arms, forearms, wrists and fingers, instead of local muscles. And similarly the connection from the back muscles down to the ground. This I believe is stage one, and depending on how well people realize this and manage to change their own bodies to work in such a fashion, determines how much they can use at the next stage misogi to improve their mechanism and conditioning.

The above is my opinion, I am not claiming that it is correct, nor the only way forward.

/../

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

My sense is that every person who steps into a dojo starts off with the physical aspect of the art. This is how it should be. From a physical perspective we have techniques (waza) and various sorts of movement (sabaki - te, tai, ashi, koshi... etc.) These are the outer forms, or empty forms of Aikido.

I can agree completely with the above.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

Misogi, too, has an outer form - all of the specific practices (gyo) from which it is comprised. The gyo are, in an of themselves empty. They are often seen as spiritual, or even worse, religious in nature. /../

I think I can see what you mean with empty form, but I personally do not agree with that view. I prefer to think that the physical action must have a physical benefit if the person practicing it knows what it should be---and I do not mean repetition training, I mean reforming the body as stage one described above.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

However, I think we can safely say that a person can practice techniques for decades and be as far off from discovering even the deeper physical aspects of Kokyu, moving with Kokyu, and throwing with Kokyu, but again these things are all (mostly) physical in nature.

This is a bit unclear to me, probably owing to the medium, since what you said to me when we were training together was never unclear nor difficult to understand when felt! I prefer to think, at this point, that kokyu is physical, related to changes in the body and the use of such new body structure, with or without breath: remember that Abe shihan used to say while demonstrating (and letting us feel his stomach and groin(!) musculature) that he can do the same things with a full breath, while breathing in, while breathing out, or with no more breath left in his lungs just with the trained musculature. The breath can add power he said, but it is not the essential part.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

They are not what lies at the heart of Aikido because, just as the sign says, "There are no techniques at the heart of Aikido." This is where misogi-no-gyo comes in. However, I believe it important to say that I don't think misogi is, or should be used as a substitute for training, rather it is a supplement to the training, and in this manner should be approached at the very beginning of one's path in order to both augment and deepen it in a way that would not be otherwise possible.

I can agree with what you say here, even that misogi should be done from the start (in aikido). It is so far removed from stage one that even if done "wrong" there are more advantages than disadvantages---I think owing to the softness of the approach. I think the problem for me is that there is a disconnect between the supplementary training in misogi and the basic training that is needed to get real benefit from the technique-based training in aikido. You see, when training with Abe-shihan, the emphasis was not the technique, it was the stance, and that I believe is the stage one method which in my opinion can be made much more explicit and direct. Then, as you say, supplementary training with misogi can give more benefits to those that practice it.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

Again, I am not sure what "barrier" it is to which you refer, but I am wondering if there is an assumption that someone must run into the wall over and over before they realize that there is and that they should use the door... /../ perhaps you are saying that one needs a fair level of understanding, say 5 years of training in the physical elements along with a similar depth of experience in the transformative aspects of misogi in order to properly integrate the two over some period of time. If that is what you meant, then I would tend to agree. I would be curious to hear Kinoshita Sensei's opinion on that, so much so that I will ask him when I next have the honor and opportunity.

Yes, something like what you write in the second part of the above. I meant a literal physical barrier, a barrier comprised of body structure which needs to be transformed. I know it will eventually happen using Abe shihan's postural training method, but it is very very slow compared to more direct methods of doing the same thing (which, admittedly, again qualify as supplemental I suppose). That means that progress is not only measured in terms of practice time, but in terms of how damaged an individual's structure was when they started. I would not hesitate to judge that someone with a more damaged body in the structural sense needs to train to break through that damage (correct the structure) and this might not even be possible without knowing more painful/direct methods. I might go so far as to speculate that that is why individuals went outside aikido to look for better methods, because some standard method with very little variation cannot help the variety of needs of its practitioners. It would be interesting to hear opinions from you about this in the future. I am afraid I was blown off too many times when asking direct questions that it would probably not be a good idea to try again.

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

/../ My investigation of the outer form of both Aikido waza and misogi waza lasted about 10 years. It was at that point that both Abe Sensei and Kinoshita Sensei individually began breaking my form after not having made one point about it verbally. I guess about two years later into my training I realized why - THERE IS NO FORM! However, and this must be said, you can't start out that way, without form I mean. Then again, there is all this effort to try and raise the "vertical axis" (no pun intended) and its relation to a ground path to be the pinnacle of internal focus. While I am sure that these are very important elements, they are basic elements at best. I believe that ground path becomes (mostly) irrelevant at some point. I say this because of some of the things I have been able to experience first hand, things I won't go into here. I definitely agree that these things take years to develop and decades to master.

I appreciate your perspective here, and I agree that the points I raised are very very basic. I believe though that so many people miss then (for example the vaster part of the students in Abe shihan's dojo), and also most have no way of getting past stage one owing to the indirectness of the methods. For example, the most common side-effect of the specific stance used was stiffness. Now, with a lot of individual instruction on the mat (which was not propagated to other students) some long-time students "got" that connection through the arms to the back and the ground and could "lift" their partner with straight arms. However, this was against partners who did not "get" it yet, and I believe the overall level is very low even if in my opinion the achievement of that first stage is the most important (in the sense that if you don't get there you aren't going to go anywhere else either with more advanced training tools).

Quote:

Shaun Ravens wrote:

/../Had I not sought out Misogi I do not think I would have changed my focus, and probably would have hurt a lot more of my training partners. There are many people on this very board who think they have come a long way on their aikido/martial path. /../

I have no doubt that misogi has been of great use to you personally, and it will continue to benefit many people. That is after all why it is somewhat of a stnadard. However, the problem I think is exactly that because it was a perfect method for one person after trying and amalgamating tons of other things, it may not be so good for others who have to mash together their own regimes once they understand what they are trying to achieve. Abe shihan too trains differently from his teacher. He also does other things than misogi, which he does not talk about publicly because publicly he wants to preserve the teachings of Morihei Ueshiba. I agree that it is better to try to preserve one true path than to change it and teach one's own thing if one is trying to propagate a baseline (regardless of what one chooses that baseline to be, the founder's one is possibly the best choice in a martial art style model).

Well, I planned this one to be very short. Only because a full reply would take me half a day to compose. In any case, while the value in my opinion would at some point be good for many who have not been exposed to the depth of Abe Sensei's instruction, I will only reply to the general tone of your last post.

I just want to say that I truly appreciate both the humility and honesty with which you replied.

I mean, I just about fell out of my chair when you said:

Quote:

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote:

I am afraid I was blown off too many times when asking direct questions that it would probably not be a good idea to try again.

My only response would be, ...but of course - It could not have been any other way. After all, that is the culture of the dojo. No matter how you slice it, Abe Sensei is so "old school" that there weren't any schools around when he came up. We, the outer-deshi, were not bound by the same restrictions by which dojo students found themselves limited. We always wondered why people would move to Japan, join the dojo and expect to get anything of any real value when there were students, some training for twenty years or longer who were still waiting in line for their comeuppance. But, hey, to each his own. I once asked Abe Sensei about all that. His answer was quite funny on one level, and actually the single most intimate thing I have ever heard from someone outside of the person with whom I was in a relationship. Suffice it to say that when you enter the maze, there is only one path to follow, and there are many dead ends. A few of us just discovered that, like techniques, there really was no maze for us. Abe Sensei just smiled and responded metaphorically with, "See, now you get it." When the four of us finally visited at the same time a few years ago, Abe Sensei did the oddest of things. We had asked him to share an aspect of the misogi-no-gyo that he hasn't taught to anyone in about thirty years. He agreed to do so. At the end of our visit, he passed along a secret message to each of us, exactly the same one, wondering if any of us would get it. The thing is, he can and is so direct when he chooses to be. All we needed to do, all along, was just listen. I am still reeling from many of the completely candid things he said in private. On a daily basis I think to myself, Like the Sun in an Alaskan Winter, I miss him completely.

.

Last edited by Misogi-no-Gyo : 06-26-2008 at 12:33 AM.

I no longer participate in or read the discussion forums here on AikiWeb due to the unfair and uneven treatment of people by the owner/administrator.

Hi guys
We seem to have once again successfully gone beyond debating the reality of "it," So, instead of debating each other can we stick to the thread and talk about how folks are training it and how they are trying to incorporate it into their aikido.
Shaun
You raise some interesting points. I think the straight arm / straight leg method is so rudimentary that I wouldn't even consider it.
a) How long would he train people to do that before he moved them forward?
b) How did he move them forward?.
c) What do you do internally when you do your misogi?
d) Is it in line with Abe sensei or different?

Just how does Abe's misogi or other methods affect his technical expression of aikido? In what manner?

To another point. I'd probably be careful of sensei comparisons. They remain a hot button of who got what and whether or not the tescher changed and when, and each students own perception of the quality of that expression.
Example: There are those that are abso-freaking-lutely convinced that Kannai was the bomb and had it all. You don't want to know my opinion. And one of his students told me it was because I never saw the "real deal" from him.' I said "er....oookay." and never talked about it again.
I had a bagua teacher try to toss me and instead he bounced himself off of me in front of his student. The student defended himself and his teacher. I have seen that same student singing the praises of that teacher all over the net about how awesome he is. How do you have a successful and meaningful discussion with the student on the internet? You can't. Students are convinced their teacher has it or they wouldn't be there would they?

So if we want to talk about teachers, why not just skip to technical discussion instead of teacher / student relationships; who got what and when and so forth, and instead lets focus the discussion on:
What 'it" was, and if it was worth the having. Otherwise I'd just as soon skip the teacher thing all together and talk about what WE are doing.
Thanks